Hi there,
You should have some guidance from your Dean, the chairman of the Department of the specialty that interests you and some of the residents in that specialty. Your Dean can help you apply to some programs that you stand a good shot of getting into. Your Department chair can give you valuable feedback on what you need to be working on to be a strong candidate. You might also apply to some dream shots (you never know). Where you might want to live should be one of your criteria for picking a residency. If you don't like cold, stay away from upstate NY and Minnesota! If you don't like heat, don't apply in Florida. If you don't like geriatric patients, don't apply to Florida etc.
If you have poor USMLE Scores and didn't do very well in your coursework, then you need to get good advice as to what programs to apply to. You want to be sure that you get interviews and that you match somewhere.
You should also get a clinical mentor to help you with buffing up your application. This person should be a solid faculty member who does some of the interviews for the residency candidates. You can also speak with some of the students at your school that are starting the process for infor. Good luck!
njbmd
